bombarded Con Thien with 100 rounds of 82mm mortar, followed by 130 rounds of 152mm shells. 1/4 sustained 2 killed and 16 wounded. Thirty minutes later, about 1 km north of the base, Companies F and G encountered a PAVN Company which withdrew under cover of 60mm mortar fire; two Marines were killed and 8 wounded for 3 PAVN killed. In late January, with increasing PAVN pressure on Khe Sanh Combat Base and Route 9, 1st Battalion 9th Marines was transferred to Khe Sanh and 3rd Battalion 4th Marines was moved to the Lancaster area of operations. 2nd Battalion 4th Marines was assigned to take over the 3/4's area of operations northeast of Con Thien, and on 27 January, HMM-361 landed the first units near C-2; by the end of the day the entire battalion was deployed. On 29 January a Marine observer at Con Thien using a Starlight Scope spotted a PAVN convoy moving about 1 km north of the Ben Hai River and called in artillery air strikes. The PAVN responded by launching five SAM-2 missiles on the attacking aircraft, which proceeded to destroy both the convoy and the SAM site. By the end of January the defensive positions on the trace line, including C-2, C-2A and Con Thien (A-4), were largely complete, although there was abundant evidence of continued PAVN infiltration across the DMZ. The Tet Offensive was little noticed at Con Thien and elsewhere along the DMZ; rather it was just the same fighting that had been going on for the previous weeks and months. There was no Tet Truce here, but nor was there a sudden PAVN thrust through the DMZ or frontal assault on Khe Sanh as MACV had expected. The PAVN continued to pressure the Marines particularly around the A-3 strongpoint between Con Thien and Gio Linh. On 3 March, Lima Company, 3rd Battalion 3rd Marines, occupying an outpost on Hill 28 just north of the A-3, intercepted a PAVN battalion attempting to infiltrate the Marine positions. The PAVN encircled the Marines and were only driven back by airstrikes and Huey gunship runs. One Marine was killed and thirteen wounded while killing over 100 PAVN. On 16 March, Mike Company, 3/3 Marines and Charlie Company, 1/4 Marines clashed with another battalion-sized PAVN force. The two Marine companies called in artillery and air upon the PAVN, the bulk of which disengaged, leaving a company